Ryralane's Workbook

[Ryralane]

Hi! I'm a college student getting my core out of the way (but I've been thinking about going into neuroscience for a while now. This dream stuff really interests me.) I'm a huge anime nut, I spend the majority of my time playing games (either tabletop or video games.) I like cosplaying, drawing, writing, yadda yadda generic nerd stuff. I've been testing out different methods, and I've completed one WILD. Most of my lucid dreams are DILDs, so I thought that this would be the best option for me. In the 46 days that I have been keeping my journal, I have recorded over 80 dreams, including 7 lucid dreams, 5 of which were FAs. Things I have recognized as Dream Signs are: places from my childhood (namely my old house and my grandmother's old house,) school, stores, my friends (that I hardly ever see irl, since they moved to another city not that long ago,) my car, League of Legends, anime conventions, family (specifically siblings,) and either crossdressing or just flat-out being a girl. I look forward to this class, and I hope I get to know all of you very well~ <3

[Ryralane]

From my DJ today: Didn't have a very good night's rest last night. I don't really remember any of my dreams, either. I did, however, have a lucid dream. All I remember is doing the noseplug reality check, being surprised that I was actually dreaming, and waking up almost immediately. I didn't even have enough time to stabilize. I also think that I was a lot calmer than usual, so I must be getting used to it. I'm getting closer and closer~ Is there anything you guys can recommend? In my past few LDs, I've woken up almost instantly. It's probably just that I'm new to it and that I'm getting accustomed to the feeling, but surely there's some way to improve this. After all, I have had one LD where I stayed lucid until I started flying. I think a big factor is that I get really worried about waking up in my dream. I know that I shouldn't do this, but it doesn't seem that I'm listening to myself. If there are any tips that you guys can give me to keep me from thinking that way in my dream, I'm all ears.

[gab]

Hi Ryralane and welcome Sounds like you are very organized. DJ is great, recall is awesome and you got your dream signs all figured out. Don't forget to RC when you see them. From my DJ today: Is there anything you guys can recommend? In my past few LDs, I've woken up almost instantly. I think a big factor is that I get really worried about waking up in my dream. Yup, you answered your own question. If you think you will wake up too soon, than you very likely will. Once you ralize that, you can let go of that and start believing, that you have long LDs. It took me about 40 LDs to realize it. I started using mantra as falling asleep "long and stable" and what do you know, it worked. When it doesn't work, you may be already at the end of REM and dream will end no matter what. Hope this helps. Keep posting your progress and any questions. Happy dreams

[Ryralane]

Yay! Glad to hear that I'm on the right track Once you ralize that, you can let go of that and start believing, that you have long LDs. Yeah, I consciously know that, but in my dreams, I keep getting worried. It's silly I'm pretty sure that next time will be much better, though. The last one I had, I felt calmer, and that combined with my mantra is going to help me keep my head straight in the dream xP

[gab]

Just keep thinking about it during day, that you are having long and stable lucids from now on, because you not a noob anymore and you can do it. Sometimes I practice during day to get a 'muscle memory'. I pretend I just got lucid and I yell out loud 'clarity now', 'stabilize' and I go through the motions of stabilizing - look at my hands, count fingers, touch my arms and feel the clothes, touch the nearby wall or ground (ground is always there, so it's very good to use it to stabilize). This way when I get lucid, instead of thinking what did I wanna do, I automatically start to stabilize. Happy dreams

[Hukif]

Anime and LoL! Stuff I know well. Also, ever tried to stabilize while doing a RC? That way it will be less likely that you will wake up and also increase the duration of the lucid =D

[Ryralane]

Well, I almost always look at my hands as my second reality check, because it can double as both a reality check and a stabilization technique, but it hasn't really translated into my LDs yet. I think I'm still working on getting the habit up, but it's slowly but surely becoming natural. The big thing I need to work on is doing RCs and saying my mantra at specific points in the day (like walking through a door, etc)

[gab]

The big thing I need to work on is doing RCs and saying my mantra at specific points in the day (like walking through a door, etc) It's ok to use reminders to RC, like doorways. But try to RC at random times, too. You won't always see a doorway in a dream and then nothing triggers your lucidity. Happy dreams

[Ryralane]

Well, last night I had 2 FAs but didn't become lucid in either one, but I had a LOT of other dreams! I meditated for a little bit before I went to bed, so that might be why I remember so many of my dreams. I dunno :3 There were so many times that I should have done a RC in those dreams, though. I even thought "Hm, this is weird." at some points in the dream :\ Oh wells! Just gotta keep trying! I'll remember to do it next time! >:3

[Arch]

Hey Ryralane, again sorry for being so late to replying, I've got some tasks for you - Keep at that dream journal, 80 dreams in two months is really good so keep it up! - Your dreams seem quite realistic, maybe you should try some awareness techniques, see what works for you - work out your own routine, are you going to go for lots of awareness or RC when something odd happens - try out some WBTB MILDs if WILDs aren't your thing, naturally waking up in the night seems to work better for me - keep writing your progress here

[Hukif]

Silly FAs, one of the reasons why RCing whenever you wake up is important, not to mention at that time the dreamy-state of the mind makes it easier for it to become an habit and increase awareness.

[Ryralane]

Alrighty, so... I've been sorta working on lucid dreaming, but I started slacking on my dream journal. I don't know if I just don't remember my dreams as well lately or if I'm just being lazy. I'm gonna start those back up, though, cause I feel like I'm letting myself down if I don't. But one thing I wanted to ask about is all of the 'lucid dreams' I've had. For the past 5 or 6, maybe more, I've done a reality check and immediately or almost immediately, everything fades to black. In my most recent one, I was able to stay lucid long enough to grab someone and start feeling of their hair and their glasses so that I could stabilize, but I still just faded to black. Any advice on that? :\ The good news is, though, that although they keep fading to black, my DILDs are becoming really frequent. Also, I keep trying to WBTB, but every time I do, I just wake up and turn off the alarm, feeling really confused. Then I go back to sleep. I think that's because I'm still mostly asleep when I do that, so maybe I could somehow get myself to know why I'm waking up? Maybe I could make my alarm clock tell me that I need to do WBTB. Any thoughts on this?

[gab]

Sorry, don't know, why your LDs are fading to blackness. Mantras can be very powerful - try something like "My lds are long" "I wake up only when I want to", or anything like that and you have to believe in power of your mind. It will work. WBTB - have you tried moving your alarm to the other side of your room? Have your dream journal or piece of paper with your goals for a lucid handy, so you see it when you wake up. That should get you excited about it. You can draw something cool about your lucid goal, a dreamscape thats nice and brigth and write on it 2 min long, or something like that. Make that picture special. You could check out this collection of methods for DILDs to see, if there is anything you could add to your practice. Hope this helps

[Ryralane]

Well this is weird. I remember doing no less than 10 RCs last night, while I was dreaming, and every single one of them indicated that I was dreaming. But I never became lucid. I think the reason I kept doing them is because I somewhat realized that something was wrong and I was trying to tell myself to become lucid. Does anyone have any idea what happened? Good news is that I've gotten back into the swing of things. While my Dj isn't very full yet, my recall is getting back to its normal rate

[gab]

Well this is weird. I remember doing no less than 10 RCs last night, while I was dreaming, and every single one of them indicated that I was dreaming. But I never became lucid. I think the reason I kept doing them is because I somewhat realized that something was wrong and I was trying to tell myself to become lucid. Does anyone have any idea what happened? Sometimes it just happens. Do you practice daytime awareness with real feelings put behind it? Maybe you lack awareness, that's my guess. Check out the explanation of awareness in this post. it may help you. Happy dreams

[Ryralane]

I'm just going to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for showing me that link. Ever since I started practicing ADSA, my LDs have become stable and longer. I just entered a bunch of DJ entries into the online DJ and if you look at those you can tell Just a question, though. In my latest LD, I get the feeling that I was...semi-lucid, maybe? I would fade in and out of lucidity, but it was for the most part constant. I tried to fly, which I have personally decided against unless I grow wings to do it and focus on how the wind feels against them. Instead of doing that, I could have practiced my portals, which I had decided only the day before that I would do in my next LD. What do you think of this?

[gab]

The fading in and out of lucidity is common. I think you need to stabilize more often, each time you feel like awareness is fading, or every few seconds. I think everybody has a very strong urge to fly. I found, that if I want to remember what to do, I need to practice it during day. So in your case, I would literally stand in my room and draw portals in the air with my hand. I would say out loud "OK, I just got lucid and I'm making portals to take me to..." I would do it a few times, to get a "muscle memory", since many times in LD, you take off doing something on some urge, not really making conscious decision about it, but if you practice, you will start doing it as if on urge also, but this time it will be what you wanted to do. Unless, of course, your awareness will be 100%, then you can DECIDE, what to do. Hope this helps. Happy dreams

[Ryralane]

Alright. I'll start trying that, thanks! :3

[gab]

How is it goin?

[Ryralane]

Well, my dream recall has taken a drastic dive, but I don't think my lucid dreaming has been affected. I still have LDs at about the same rate (maybe a bit less,) but I'm having trouble remembering normal non-lucid dreams a lot. I'm still having trouble becoming fully aware in my lucid dreams as well. I just did a bulk update on my DJ, too. I really need to keep that thing updated to be consistent with my irl DJ xP

[gab]

Glad to hear your LDs are still going strong. Recall can fluctuate for no apparent reason, but also if you are stressed and have something else on your mind. Thinking about your dreams often and be thankful for them may get your recall up to par. Happy dreams

[Ryralane]

Ahhh it's probably because I just got a job >_< I'll keep you guys up-to-date on any important happenings

[gab]

Congrats on a job! Drop by, whenever you feel like it. Happy dreams